英语听力：自然百科 古巴环保行动

 It's an island known for its rich cultural history and environmental treasures but human activities such as tourism and deforestation threaten some of Cuba’s key habitats, which is why the World Wildlife Funds Julia Langer collaborates¹ with local partners to protect the island’s moist forests, wetlands and coral reefs.

 

“The most satisfying thing about my work in Cuba this year really has been on the marine² part of the program, the Caribbean turtle population is in serious decline and that’s why all these species are listed on the endangered species list.”

 

The biggest threat to marine conservation is the high volume of tourist, over a million people visit each year and that number is expected to swell³. Such massive tourism growth could have serious impacts on the marine ecosystem⁴, including endangered marine turtles who compete for nesting space on the popular tourist beaches. Once abundant in Caribbean waters, marine turtles have been hunted to the brink⁵ of extinction⁶ for their meat, eggs and beautiful shells.

 

“I was actually quite surprised to find tortoise shell products right out on the open, but you can't allow any of it to happen, because if people buy it, then there’s the demand.”

 

For many years, Cuba retained a legal fishery of five hundred hawksbill turtles a year, but thanks to a joint⁷ effort by WWF and the Cuban Ministry⁸ of Fisheries, the nation has banned the harvesting of all marine turtle species.

 

And while WWF Canada's conservation expertise⁹ is making an impact in Cuba, Canada can learn a great deal in turn. Cuba is currently the only country in the world to meet WWF’s criteria¹⁰ for sustainable development, minimizing its ecological¹¹ footprint while preserving a healthy standard of living. Organic farming plays a significant role in Cuba's success.

 

“I was just walk up into the Escambray Mountains in Cuba, this is the perfect area for growing coffee and these bushes grow quite well, especially up on the mountain sides, a lot of coffee these days are just plantation¹², where the forests are completely cut down.”

 

Organic farming practices help preserve the environment, but it's still necessary to set aside protected areas. Therefore national parks and preserves cover nearly a third of the island, of these , Ciénaga de Zapata is the largest park and covers over two thousand square miles of coasts, swamps and mangroves.

 

Environmental education forms an important part of WWF's programs in this area, including extra-curricular clubs for children. As a Cuban landscape evolves politically and economically, Julia hopes that with WWF’s efforts, at least some of the environment will stay the same.

 

Sponsored by National Geographic¹³ Mission Programs, taking science and aspiration¹⁴ into the new millennium¹⁵.

 

1 collaborates   

合作( collaborate的第三人称单数 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Third, main economy Central Bank collaborates to cut the interest rate. 第三，主要经济体央行联手降低利率。
• Any one who collaborates should be shot. 与敌人勾结者一律枪决。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

4 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

5 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

6 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

10 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

11 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

12 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

13 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

14 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。

15 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。